Category: History

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1950s-Era Hawaiian Mai Tai

When Trader Vic Bergeron included the Mai Tai on his cocktail menu for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Moana Hotel in 1953, he never knew the cocktail would become one of the most famous in the world. The cocktail’s exotic name surely helped get the drink ordered, but the taste is what made the tourists rave.

This style of Mai Tai was similar to the original 1944 recipe, but was adjusted to omit the long-aged rums that had been the featured spirit in the cocktail up to that point. The use of light rum in combination with a flavorful dark rum was common across all published recipes of this era, including in the recipe that Bergeron provided to a guest in a letter in 1956. This affords a lighter style to the cocktail, likely considered more refreshing and approachable for the average hotel guest. 

The dark Jamaican rum of this era was not as ester-forward as what you might find today, and funky rums wouldn’t have been a good choice for tourists. So, think of something like Coruba or Myers’s rather than Smith & Cross. The commonly seen Demerara rums you find today would be a fine substitution. Rum floats were not common during this time-period, but more than two ounces of rum was often seen. So wonder the tourists loved those “tummy warmers.”

Though the recipes of this era vary, there are some common elements. Besides the use of both light and dark rum, the sweeteners were included in equal parts. Before pineapple and orange juice were added to the Hawaiian Mai Tai in the 1960s, we did see that citrus juice was used in healthy amounts. Lime was common, sometimes used in combination with lemon juice.

Looking at the recipes and how they varied, we taste tested some variants and came up with a generic version that is both representative and also easy to prepare. Not too boozy, not too tart. Just right.

1950s-Era Hawaiian Mai Tai (Generic)
1 oz Lime Juice
⅓ oz Orgeat
⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup
⅓ oz Orange Curacao
1½ oz Light Rum
1½ oz Dark Jamaican Rum or Demerara Rum

Shake with crushed ice and pour into a double-rocks glass, topping with more crushed ice. Garnish with mint or orchid, and either a pineapple spear or a speared pineapple chunk with a cherry.

The Halekulani Hotel still makes a Mai Tai that’s similar to this recipe, though they do add  a ½ oz float of flavorful Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum.

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Overgrown Again at 65th and San Pablo

This is the lot in Oakland where the original Trader Vic’s location stood from 1934 until it was closed in 1972 when Emeryville location opened a couple miles away. I’m not sure when the building was taken down. Literally ground zero for the Mai Tai, invented here in 1944.

From time to time I like to visit and see what the current state is, and notably the lot is now completely overgrown! Compare the photos from 2021 and 2020 to see what this could look like, and to 2017 when it was also overgrown.

You’ll note that one of the two palm trees that framed the entrance to Trader Vic’s is still standing and even has some green fronds. The other one was cut down in 2019 to a 4 foot stump. That stump later disappeared and supposedly was carved into a tiki by Notch Gonzalez. At least according to the “I am Tiki, from Trader Vic’s” page on Facebook. Check it out for even more historical details.

Getting back to the lot, I noticed the “lot for sale” signs are no longer present. Maybe someone bought it. Maybe someone gave up trying.

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Mai Tai Myth: Trader Vic Kept the Recipe a Secret

Leading up to Mai Tai Day (August 30), we are sharing five Mai Tai myths.

While there was a great deal of secrecy around cocktail recipes at Don the Beachcomber locations, there was a different practice with Trader Vic’s. While the original 1944 Mai Tai recipe wasn’t published until the 1972 Bartenders Guide Revised, it also wasn’t a trade secret known only to Trader Vic. He had already published many of his Trader Vic’s recipes in the 1947 Bartender’s Guide.

A customer wrote to Bergeron in 1956 requesting the recipe for the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai and Trader Vic himself signed the letter sent back to the customer. We know because letter went up for auction in 2010. This remains the earliest documented Hawaiian Mai Tai recipe and is similar to the original 1944 Mai Tai.

This recipe and others like it were published in newspaper articles and books, but Trader Vic’s didn’t sue or publicly complain about the recipes being shared. It was only when the Sun-Vac corp tried to copyright the Mai Tai for their commercial Mai Tai mix that lawyers got involved. Vic won the out of court settlement.

Want to learn more? Check our essay The (De)Evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai, or view the article in Issue 15 of Exotica Modernemagazine. Or join us at Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Day event on August 28 for a special seminar on the Hawaiian Mai Tai.

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Mai Tai Myth: Nobody knew the Mai Tai Ingredients Until 1970

Leading up to Mai Tai Day (August 30), we are sharing five Mai Tai myths.

Trader Vic Bergeron issued a press release in 1970 describing how he original developed the Mai Tai and he also included the original recipe. During this time period and continuing to present day, Mai Tais are made with non-original ingredients such as grenadine, orange juice, and pineapple juice, so we’ve seen speculation that this means that body knew what was actually in a Mai Tai. The most frequent rationale goes something like “nobody knew what was in a Mai Tai, so they made due with what they had.”

Nonetheless, there are numerous 1950s-1960s published recipes in newspapers and books such as the popular Esquire Party Book (1965) that provided Mai Tai recipes featuring the original ingredients: lime, rock candy syrup, orgeat, orange curaçao, and rum. This isn’t like the Zombie where nobody knew about Don’s Mix or even what was in it.

The proportions of those published recipes differed from the original 1944 recipe, in large part due to Trader Vic’s own tweak of the recipe that he provided to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1953. We’ll have more about that recipe in our next post. But the constant use of the obscure orgeat in these recipes is reason enough to blow the myth that nobody knew the ingredients of a Mai Tai.

Want to learn more? Check our essay The (De)Evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai, or view the article in Issue 15 of Exotica Moderne magazine. Or join us at Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Day event on August 28 for a special seminar on the Hawaiian Mai Tai.

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Tam O’Shanter: Celebrating 100 Years

We had reservations to go to Tam O’Shanter in January, but those were cancelled at the height of omicron. We were staying nearby in Glendale so this was a perfect opportunity to give the restaurant a second chance for a visit.

We were intrigued in learning more about the history of the Scotch-inspired steakhouse that is celebrating 100 years in business this year. While prime rib isn’t our thing, themed environments are and Tam O’Shanter really delivers. While we were seated outside under a charming tent and nearby an equally tranquil garden, we also got to peek inside at the myriad dining rooms inside. Frequented for many years by Disney animators and Walt Disney himself. Table 31 was Walt’s favorite and there are carvings in the table done by Disney animators.

We went in a turkey direction for our meal, but I decided to test the unfamiliar waters of Tam O’Shanter’s vast Whiskey collection. Walt Disney’s favorite cocktail was a Scotch Mist so I figured this was a good choice for the occasion. I asked for a Scotch that wasn’t so “peaty” and the bartender used Cutty Sark which was just fine with me. Scotch, ice, and a twist of lemon.

The service was great and we enjoyed the food. Being able to score a reservation inside would be a priority for future visits, since the interior is so elaborately themed.

You can learn more about the Tam O’Shanter in this video from our friends Tiki with Ray and Stephen Curran. The embed below is part of a longer video covering historical Disney-connected destinations in Los Angeles and starts in the section covering Tam O’Shanter. 

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Tiki Ti: Still Packing in the Crowds

I has been a few years since we last visited Tiki Ti and we made a point to go this time. We arrived 30 mins before opening and after sweating outside in line we finally made it in. Super crowded at opening especially with the long line, but luckily we knew what we wanted to order and so I went to the far end of the bar where bartender Greg Bansuelo was waiting for orders.

Service is at the bar but Greg got our drinks going quickly. I wanted to try a Ray’s Mistake and Mrs Mai Tai had the Lemon Head that had been recommended and one to try. Honestly I didn’t feel either were life changing but a couple cool tropical drinks inside after being out in the hot LA sun for a half hour definitely helped. There was some good energy inside, but also kind of crowded and warm so we only stayed for the one drink.

We congratulated Mike Buhen Sr on still being able to pull in the crowds after all these years. There are so many things to look at inside, and you can feel the history here. Glad we made it this trip and I hope to visit again soon – maybe later in the evening when it’s dark and cooler.

Mike Buhen Jr. and Greg Bansuelo
Lemon Head and Ray’s Mistake
Layers of Decor inside the Tiki Ti
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Mai Tai Myth: Hawaiian Mai Tais have Always had Pineapple Juice

Leading up to Mai Tai Day (August 30), we are sharing five Mai Tai myths.

First up is the myth that when Trader Vic introduced the Mai Tai to Hawaii in 1953 that it was created with pineapple juice. We continue to see this in mentioned in articles, or see the 1972 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai recipe that contains pineapple juice to be attributed to the earlier 1953 date as well.

The Mai Tai on the original Royal Hawaiian menu did not call out pineapple juice as an ingredient. And we saw several published recipes including one attributed to “a bartender at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel” from the 1950s that also do not include pineapple juice. Trader Vic himself provided the Mai Tai recipe to a customer in 1956, and this didn’t have pineapple juice either.

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel eventually did switch over to a Mai Tai with pineapple and orange juice, but we see no documentation that this took place until the early 1970s.

Pineapple juice is certainly the ingredient that changes a 1944 style Mai Tai to an “Island Mai Tai” and these are common in Hawaii and other tourist destinations. But pineapple juice wasn’t commonly used in Hawaiian Mai Tais until the 1960s.

Want to learn more? Check our essay The (De)Evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai on our site, or view the article in Issue 15 of Exotica Moderne magazine.